Practice Tip: Learning a Song

1) Listen to the first chorus of your song and highlight phrase starts and stops.

2) Loop (set start and end points with your looping software to isolate the first lick in the chorus)

3) Listen

4) Hum (internalize the rhythm and contour of the melody)—know the lick before trying to play it on your machine.

5) Practice (without loop—pause the playback)

6) Listen Once, Play Once a) Once you feel that you’re getting it, play it 3 times and listen once.

7) Once notes, rhythm, and technique are dialed in, dial in:

    a) Articulation/attack

    b) Tremolo/vibrato

    c) Dynamics

        i) Volume

        ii) Tone (head/hand)